


Part of Your World

by ProfessorDumbleBrows



Series: MakoHaru AU Week [2]
Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-06
Updated: 2015-09-06
Packaged: 2018-04-19 10:28:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4742873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProfessorDumbleBrows/pseuds/ProfessorDumbleBrows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The human world never really appealed to Haruka. But after being sent to examine the world, he found himself drawn to one human in particular. It was then that not only Haruka's life change completely but so did Makoto's as Makoto later becomes faced with having to choose between his world or Haru's.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Part of Your World

**Author's Note:**

> MakoHaru AU Week  
> Day 2: Mermen
> 
> This is daaaaays late for MH AU Week, but I told myself I'm definitely going to finish writing for this week one way or another. Please do enjoy this fic.  
> I apologize for any OOC-ness or difficulties with reading; I had a hard time writing through writers' block...

Suffocating darkness.

That’s the only thing that ran through Makoto’s mind as he was dragged deeper into the ocean. Despite all attempts at freeing himself, nothing worked to change what was happening. He could not free himself from the grip of the two men by his sides. That is -- if they could be called men.

“The boy will drown if we continue!” One said.

“Then so be it. It means he was not meant to be of our kind.” The other responded.

Makoto felt his head grow lighter. He felt himself beginning to slip away from reality. His last memory would be of him walking side by side with Haruka on the beach.

Haruka…

The one person who meant the world to him. A man who has been there for him, who has loved him more and more as time passed by.

Closing his eyes, he accepted his fate. The last thing he heard was muffled screaming before he completely lost consciousness.

**~*~**

Slowly waking up, Makoto squinted against the light that filled the room. Why was it so bright? He blinked a few times, his eyes opening wider with every blink. Makoto tried to speak but his throat felt raw and ached.

“You’re finally awake.” A voice spoke from the side of the room.

Turning his head carefully, he looked to see Haruka who was sitting on a chair by the window. Closing his book, Haruka got up and walked over to Makoto’s bed. He lifted a hand to run his fingers through the locks of brunet hair, trying to offer some comfort to his bedridden lover.

“How do you feel?”

Makoto gulped, trying to moisten his throat. The action, instead, caused him to cringe from the stinging after effect. Seeing the cringe, Haruka patted his head before moving to get him a cup of water and a straw.

“The doctors said you’ll be released tomorrow.” Haruka explained as Makoto pushed himself to sit up. Handing him the cup, he continued, “They’ll give you medicine for your throat and said if anything reoccurs to come back immediately.”

Makoto nodded as he listened before drinking his water. He tried clearing his throat a bit before speaking.

"Sounds great." He said, voice a bit raspy. After a short moment of silence, he added, "I had that weird dream again..."

"The one about Iwatobi-chan?"

"No! That one is still creepy." He mumbled, shuddering at the thought of a personified Iwatobi-chan. "It was the one from a few days ago. The one where you were a mermaid."

Haruka blinked. "It's just a dream. I told you what happened when you first woke up a few days ago. We went for a swim and the waves were too strong—"

"I know, but it doesn't change the fact the dream happened again."

Sighing, the raven haired male leaned over to kiss Makoto's forehead. "It's just a dream. Dreams repeat themselves."

Looking up at the other, he frowned.

"I'll come back tomorrow when they release you." Haruka said before giving Makoto a peck on the lips.

They exchanged their 'I love you' and goodbyes to each other before Haruka left the room.

**~*~**

While driving back home, Haruka decided to stop by the beach. He pulled up the car to the parking lot and made his way to the sand, standing before the waves that gently washed against the shore. His eyes stared at the water for quite some time, an uneasy feeling filling his gut. Taking a deep breath, he stripped down to his swimsuit -- an article of clothing he’s grown used to wearing under his clothes -- and he begun to step forward into the water.

Once he was fully submerged, his legs began to morph into the mermaid tail he had known for most of his life. The vivid blue scales shone brightly in the moonlight that seeped through in the water and decorated various parts of his body. Opening his eyes, he begun to swim downwards.

‘I have to make it to them...’ He thought as he pushed through the built up pressure of the lower sea levels.

Moments later, Haruka found himself floating before the entrance of the royal court. Mermaids and mermen swam around him, either passing by, leaving, or entering the building of coral and seaweed. Inhaling deeply to calm his nerves, he entered and right away went for the head official’s room of the building.

“Hey, you can’t go in there!” the mermaid at the front desk shouted.

Ignoring her, he continued swimming and pushed the doors open.

“Rin, where are you?!” Haruka shouted as he entered the room.

Before the merman could approach the other, guards had already grabbed his arms and pulled him back.

“Haru… I’m surprised to see you back so soon after what you did.” The merman named Rin spoke as he swam out from behind a column. “Did you want to make it easier for me so I wouldn’t have to hunt you down?” He asked, smiling slyly as he moved a lock of red hair away from his face.

“Why did you send them after Makoto?!”

“Did we not have an agreement?” The other asked with a tilt of his head as he approached Haruka. He placed a hand under his chin and tilted his head up as he looked into his eyes. “If the man doesn’t turn into a merman by the end of the month, we kill him.”

“There was still time…” Haruka said, gritting his teeth.

“Your time is up. He showed no signs of beginning to change. You stopped giving him the potion, didn’t you?” Rin let go of Haruka’s chin and moved his hand to pinch his cheek instead. “You fell in love with him, didn’t you?!” A laugh followed his words.

“Let me go! ...Give me more time.”

“No, that’s i--”

“If I can’t get him to change willingly then I’ll become a human.” Haruka interrupted, narrowing his eyes at the other.

Rin blinked, his eyebrows furrowing a bit as though he couldn’t process what he just heard. Of all the years he’s known him, he knew Haruka hated the human world more than anything. He stood silent as to think things over before speaking again.

“I will give you a new potion. You have a week to give it to him. If you fail to turn him into a merman by the end of the week, you will be forced to become a human for the remainder of your life.” He said, confirming his final decision. Rin looked at the guards, “Release him.” And turning to Haruka, he added, “Follow me.”

**~*~**

“How are you feeling?” Haruka asked as he walked into the house with Makoto.

Makoto laughed quietly, “You asked me that when we left the hospital… I told you, I’m feeling much better.” He smiled.

“Right. Just making sure.”

Haruka closed the front door and begun making his way to the kitchen to make tea for the both of them. Meanwhile, Makoto walked around to examine the house, finding everything to be the same as it had been before those few days he was not home. He entered the kitchen and leaned back against the counter, watching as Haruka prepared the tea.

“...yes?” Haruka asked, feeling Makoto’s stare on him.

“I’m wondering if everything is okay? You seemed troubled.” He said with a soft tone.

“Everything is fine.”

“You’re tense.”

“I’m always tense.”

“No you’re not. What’s wrong?”

Pausing, the shorter of the two pressed his lips together tightly. He lowered the flame of the stove and glanced up at Makoto.

“After we finish drinking our tea, can we take a walk to the beach? We need to talk.” He said.

Suddenly feeling anxious, Makoto blinked. “Talk? I… Okay.” He agreed, trying to keep a neutral expression. He’s had plenty of cases where people have said they needed to talk and none of them had ended well. He wasn’t exactly sure how he would feel if this would end up the same way.

The tea was soon served and the two drank, making idle conversation of what has happened generally over the past few days. Soon, they left the house and were on the road to go to the beach. The sun was setting and a mixture of orange and purple decorated the sky. Haruka and Makoto stepped out of the car and took off their shoes before beginning to walk along the sand of the beach.

After some time, Makoto finally spoke up. “So what was it you wanted to talk about?” He asked.

Haruka stood silent for a few seconds. He took a deep breath before saying, “I’m a merman.”

Makoto stopped in his tracks the moment he heard those words leave Haruka’s lips. Blinking, he stared at him before he began to laugh.

“A merman?! I know you love the water, but I don’t think you’re a merman. You have legs, you breathe air! ...Mermaids don’t exist!”

Of course Makoto wouldn’t be convinced if he just told him. Haruka glanced over to the water. “Do you want me to prove it to you?”

“What?”

“Do you want me to prove it to you?”

“...I guess? If you think you can. I still don’t think that it’s possible you’re a merman, though.”

Without another word, Haruka began to strip. He desperately wanted to just throw his clothes aside and jump into the water, but he decided to take this moment more seriously. He folded his clothes and took out a pair of goggles he had in one of his pants pockets. Tossing them to Makoto, he said, “Use these to see in the water.”

Makoto caught the goggles and furrowed his eyebrows. ‘Is Haru serious about this?’ He mentally asked himself as he stripped himself down to his swimsuit that he was told to wear. He put on the goggles and looked at Haruka, who was already stepping foot into the water. The brunet followed suit and walked until he was waist deep.

Giving him one last look, Haruka then submerged himself into the water. Makoto waited for a few moments, expecting him to resurface at any time and laugh it off. However, he did not resurface and Makoto felt his stomach tighten. Making sure his goggles were on correctly, he pressed them and took a deep breath before moving to go under the water.

What he saw… surprised him beyond belief.

Haruka, with his smooth skin and black hair, also had a bright blue fish tail and was decorated with matching blue scales over various body parts. The merman was staring back at him, wearing an expression that almost said, “What took you so long?”

Immediately, Makoto resurfaced and began panting for air. His eyes were wide and he yanked off the goggles. ‘What was that? What was that?!’ He screamed in his mind.

Seconds later, Haruka resurfaced.

“Do you believe me now?”

“You’re a merman!” Was the only thing Makoto could say.

“Now… We need to talk.” He said, beginning to swim back to shore.

Makoto turned around, expecting to see the tail as Haruka got out, but instead he saw the pair of legs he was used to seeing. A shaky breath escaped and he coughed a bit before moving back to the shore.

The two sat down by their clothes and looked out at the water shimmering in the light of the sunset.

“You’re a merman.”

“Yes.”

“You’re a merman.”

“Is that all you can say?”

“I just saw my human boyfriend turn into a fish.”

“Can I explain?”

“Please!”

Haruka brought his knees closer to his chest. He looked down at his toes wiggling in the sand and thought about how he was going to start off.

“I’m a merman. I was put on a task to examine a few details of the human world. I… don’t really like the land that much. But then I found you… The day you saw me by the boardwalk, that was my first day on land.”

Makoto thought back to that day. It had been a strange time but it was also the first day of their life together. He remembered seeing Haruka in various places that week and after finally gaining the courage to talk to him, he didn’t see him again until months later.

“I started to become fascinated with you. Only you. And so I begun stealing potions in order to become human at various times. But I was caught and I had to make up for all the potions I stole. Another merman, Rin, made a deal with me though. He gave me a potion so that I could permanently become human every time I’m on land. But in return, I had to turn you into a merman.”

“...Turn me into a merman?”

Haruka nodded.

“The potion he gave me took a month in order to take effect. I had a month to give you the potion every day to make sure you would change, so I slipped it into your food and drinks.” A pause and then he added. “Sorry, by the way.”

Makoto just stared at Haruka in disbelief that he was being slipped a potion everyday. Shoulders slumping, he said, “Continue.”

“I stopped after the first week, though. Because I realized I cared about you too much… I didn’t want to make you suffer by changing you against your will.” Another pause. “That dream you had about the men dragging you into the water. That was actually real. Rin sent his guards to drown you in the depths of the ocean as punishment for me not completing my duties.”

“So then… You saved me?”

Another nod.

“So then what happened?”

“I now have a week to ask you if you want to become a merman or not.” Haruka leaned over to his pants and took out a small vial. He lifted it to Makoto’s line of vision. “You can say yes and take this to instantly become a merman or you can say no and I will permanently become human.”

Makoto looked at the vial that Haruka held. His heart rate began to speed up and he took a deep breath to try to calm himself. He could join Haruka in his world but he would have to leave everything behind. ...Or Haruka could join him and never become a merman ever again.

Having to pick between the two made him nervous. He gulped.

“...Either way I get to be with you, right?” The brunet asked.

“Yes.”

Makoto continued looking at the vial as he thought.

“You don’t have to choose now--”

“No, I’ve made my decision.”

**~*~**

“I still can’t believe you and Haru-chan are moving out of the country!” Nagisa exclaimed as he placed a box into the car. “It’ll take forever to visit you guys.”

Makoto laughed, “Don’t worry, Nagisa. We’ll be sure to visit you as soon as we can.”

“That better be a promise.” The blond responded, puffing up his cheeks. “How is your new house like anyway?”

“Uh, I don’t exactly remember… Haru?”

“It’s surrounded by water.” Haruka responded as he placed the last of the boxes in the car.

“Whoa, so it’s like a beach house!”

“I guess you can say that.”

“Take pictures and send them to me when you can!”

“Of course.” Makoto smiled. “We should be leaving now…” He added as he looked at his watch.

Nagisa quickly gave the two a hug before beginning to walk away with a wave. “Have a safe trip!”

Makoto and Haruka nodded and waved back. Once Nagisa was out of sight, they got into the car.

“So we’ll drop this stuff off at the donation center then go?” Makoto asked.

“Mhm.” Haruka hummed as he started the car. He was ready to drive but he couldn’t bring himself to press on the gas just yet. “Are you sure about this…?”

“I already told you I was. Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll get used to it in no time. Plus, you’ll be there to help, right?”

“Right.”

“I can’t wait to see your world…”

 


End file.
